Statistics Canada reported on March 23 that total investment in building construction across the country rose by 0.5 percent in January to $15.6 billion.

Activity in the residential sector was largely unchanged in January. Increases in Quebec (+5.5 percent to $2.3 billion), British Columbia (+0.1 percent to $1.9 billion) and Nova Scotia (+0.6 percent to $224.0 million) offset declines in the seven other provinces. Quebec led residential investment in both single-unit dwellings (+6.6 percent to $1.0 billion) and multi-unit dwellings (+4.7 percent to $1.3 billion).

Meanwhile, all three components of non-residential investment (commercial, institutional, and industrial) were up in January, rising 1.4 percent to $5.1 billion. Both Quebec (+5.1 percent to $1.1 billion) and Ontario (+1.8 percent to $1.9 billion) reported notable growth, while Alberta declined 1.5 percent to $682.1 million.

The commercial component was the largest contributor to non-residential growth, up 1.8 percent to $3.0 billion. Quebec reported the largest gains (+8.4 percent to $629.6 million), primarily due to multiple major projects, such as the National Bank head office in Montréal.

The institutional sector rose 0.9 percent to $1.2 billion. Growth in Toronto propelled Ontario up 3.8 percent to $423.8 million. Declines in British Columbia and Alberta slightly offset gains in Ontario.

The industrial component increased 0.8 percent to $928.3 million. Gains in seven provinces outweighed declines in Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

Overall investment in Ontario dropped slightly – from $6.33 billion in December to $6.28 billion in January. While residential-sector investment in the province slipped from $4.44 billion to $4.36 billion, investment in the non-residential sector gained ground. Ontario recorded small increases in all three sectors for total growth of about $35 million.